Jesus and the Samaritan Woman: More to the story

While spending some time with my maker this week, God gave me a revelation about Jesus and the Samaritan Woman.

See, I have always been fascinated by this story. I’ve always seen the Samaritan woman as someone like me that needed prove before she could believe.

In April 2012; a lady told me everything I had ever done- I mean the secrets that I know nobody else knows apart from God, secrets I only want God to know. So when this woman told me I was gob smacked just like the Samaritan woman was. Like this woman I left all my shame, self pity and pain at the well, follow and live for God, tell everyone about my story. I didn’t need no business card or anything, but my testimony to tell others about Jesus and the living water He gave me.

Whilst studying Spiritual discipline-Fasting, I came across something Pastor James McDonald wrote regarding authentic fasting. This gave me another illuminating truth to this story.

Follow me through this inspiring story in the bible by reading John 4:1-38

Look at John 4:3-8. There are two stories going on here. You have the intertwined accounts of Jesus and the woman at the well; and the disciples and their food. Verse 6 explains how this band of travelers felt. They were all tired. They wanted some rest. Parched mouths. Sweaty clothes. What would you have been thinking? “I need some water, and I need some food.”

Now look at verse 7. Where had His disciples gone? To get food but Jesus knows He’s got to minister to this woman, and all they’re thinking about is food.

Jesus knew He had orders from His Father. He had a goal…

The Holy Spirit was directing His steps. As you already know Jesus did not just do anything for doing sake. He had a purpose for everything and anything He did while on earth. He was following directions of His Father, the Sovereign God.

This got me thinking while reading this chapter: Why that particular well? Why that particular town? Why at that particular time? Why this woman?

Now just a little backdrop — the disciples were preoccupied with food. In Matthew 12:1, they were walking through a grain field and got into trouble with the Pharisees because the disciples starting snacking on the grain off the stalk — because they were hungry. Later, in Luke 12:23, Jesus rebuked them and said, “For life is more than food.” In Matthew 14:15, they came to Jesus when He was teaching and said, “Send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves,” which is another way of saying, “We’re hungry!”

We’ll just skip over the account of Jesus’ amazing conversation with this woman. Look at John 4:31-32, “Meanwhile . . . (the disciples are back from Wendy’s) the disciples were urging him saying, ‘Rabbi eat!’” Look at Jesus’ response to his food-focused disciples, “But He said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’”

Jesus had food to eat they knew nothing about. The disciples didn’t get it.

My question to you today is “Are you also seeking for the physical food like the disciples?”

Or

“Are you seeking for the spiritual food like Jesus was?”

Winning souls was Jesus’ food. It should be ours too! After all, we believers are to emulate Jesus.